Malaria battle changed Cheryl Cole’s life

The former “X Factor” judge caught the disease after visiting Africa last year and although she was hospitalised, she insists it did benefit her as it made her focus more on the important things in life, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“It opened my eyes to health and things I hadn’t focused on before. It’s now less about work, work, work and more about taking time to chill and be with my friends and family,” she said.

The 28-year-old singer was left bed-ridden by the effects of malaria. She has revealed the disease ate away her muscles and turned her complexion yellow.

“I was yellow because of my kidneys, it was a bit like jaundice. It was hard to find a matching foundation, let me tell you,” she said.